With few signs of spring here in Newfoundland, and our vacation more than two weeks away, I’m getting a little restless for a change of climate and scenery. This morning found me looking back on photos from a different spring, of our May trip to Montreal five years ago. Won’t you come along and take in some sightseeing with me, in one of my favourite cities?
view from our hotel room
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inside the Centre for ArchitectureMontreal Museum of Fine ArtsLet’s go inside.Exhibition by Yoko Ono
John Lennon’s Piano
Mount Royal Park
playing in the park 😉
Ah…Spring in full bloom
view from hotel # 2Loving Old Montreal!
pretty windowsadmiring the architecture
Shopping!View from the top of Olympic Stadium
I wanted to bring these home.Sunday Fun Downtown
Enjoying sangria on Crescent Street
Hoping to visit again someday.
Have you ever been to Montreal? Lived there? What is your favourite city to visit?
Rhonda deals with the loss of her beautiful daughter last spring by blogging about it. Heart-wrenching, powerful, and beautifully written, she tells how even those closest to us often keep depression hidden. Please ask for help if this is you.
On 4-11-13 I lost my beautiful, brilliant 23 year old daughter to suicide due to the illness that she kept from me and all others all her life, depression. This is the story of my travel down this road of horrendous pain and disbelief, and stories of her wonderfulness as a person
The Daily Post challenge for photographers this week is to show three similar images. I came up with two versions from winter and summer here on Perry’s Point.
Ice Storm Aftermath
“Glass” on Grass Glitter-Coated Branches Crunchy Tufts of Grass
Seashells on Rocks
Now that March is marching toward us, this photographer is growing a smidge weary of the snow and ice. Thoughts swing to the anticipation of warm weather and the new life that Spring unfurls. I remember this colony of mollusks, better known as seashells, from last summer.
Shelled mollusks are not the only things living on these rocks. Colonies oftiny, white rock barnacles are everywhere. Barnacles are arthropods, related to crab and lobster.
Shells and BarnaclesYellow Algae Grows Here Too
I’m ready to trade the ice for seashells. Are you?
Have you ever had a plan to do something you knew all along you had to do, but when the time came, you hesitated and were filled with doubt?
Do you remember the day you had to let go and trust your baby to take her first wobbly steps? Or watch him toddle off without you, to catch the bus to kindergarten for the first time? Or do you recall filling with anxiety when you gave her the keys to the family car, and she drove off by herself with her brand-new drivers licence? When these events came up in my life, I visualized a miles-long, psychological umbilical cord stretching out between us, connecting us. I wanted to hold on to my baby, nervous she might stumble, afraid he wasn’t ready, terrified she would crash and burn.
I know, I know. I’m being dramatic. These things occur every day in people’s lives, and everything almost always turns out fine. My babies have grown up, and they both turned out great.
So I was surprised two days ago, when these emotions came back full force as I relinquished my newest baby, my completed novel, into a reader’s hands for its first critique. (You didn’t think I was referring to a real baby, did you? 😉 )
Conceived sixteen months earlier, then outlined, written, revised, and edited, my novel rested, finished at last. I knew a critique was the next necessary step. But was it truly ready? Was I letting go too soon? Had I edited, and re-edited, enough?
I can’t let you go!
I paced. I fidgeted. I waited to hear the first damning word of criticism, or a longed-for word of praise. Tough stuff to wait for when it’s about something that consumed your thoughts and attention for so many months. And my own objectivity flew out the window weeks ago.
Happily, it was praise. My reader is now a third of the way through, and suggestions of tweaks have been miniscule. I realize he has a way to go yet, but I’m encouraged already for three reasons:
1. In the first sitting, he planned to read the first three chapters, but read the fourth because he said it was hard to put down. (!)
2. By the second chapter, he said vehemently about one of the antagonists: “I hate her!”
3. Even though it isn’t his usual genre (my book is geared more toward a female readership), he admitted that his interest had been captured, and I should go ahead and start the sequel I’d been considering. Yay!
So far, so good. Maybe now I can stop worrying and relax a little.
Have you ever felt on edge when you allowed someone to evaluate a creative project of yours? Please share your experiences with me!
Blame it on too many years as a student, but any venture I take part in, I look for themes. The search for themes often takes place in subconscious gatherings, until my mind pieces together all the parts and comes to a new conclusion.
Recently, I’ve found some themes in the blogosphere that sit uncomfortably in my heart. Two major themes I’ve found tied together in the blogging world lately are: the fear of authenticity and the need to apologize for real life.
In the middle of 2013, I read several “exposé” articles from well-loved blogs. These posts shed the aesthetic perfectionism seen featured on most blogs today, and the bloggers unabashedly shared photography and stories from their real day-to-day lives.
You know, real life: messy life. The ‘I just got home from work and my make-up wore off hours ago‘ life. The laundry baskets are overflowing…
Due to an interruption in our internet service, this post didn’t go online yesterday as it should have on my son’s birthday. My apologies!
Christening Day
In the midst of a snowstorm back in the eighties, my boy decided to make his debut into the world. Because I couldn’t make it to Carbonear Hospital, Brian was delivered in the nearby cottage hospital, a high point for the staff there that day. He was a strapping nine pounds seven ounces, and I was thrilled to have a little boy, as I had a girl at home.
waiting for a piece of dough to play with from my batch of bread
As most little boys are growing up, my son was a bundle of energy who kept me on my toes, but he was also super-affectionate.
♥
How quickly the years have flown by! Here is Brian in his teens.
my handsome boyUniversity Grad with Two Degrees
Happy Birthday, Honey. You have enriched our lives beyond measure. ~ Love, Mom ♥
At long last and according to our milder forecast for the next few days, I don’t have to wear this when I go out for a walk.
There have even been sightings of robins, can you believe it? Could Spring be arriving extra early this year? Or are these poor, confused robins that forgot to fly south?
In any case, I’m happy it is warmer for how ever long it lasts, and thoughts of winter ending at some point (the days are getting longer!) fills me with anticipation. Husband and I are considering a tropical vacay in a couple of months, so that helps me keep warm too, with visions of hot sandy beaches and warm fun-filled nights, and the smell of fruity drinks and suntan lotion by a relaxing pool.
But you know what else helps to keep me warm? My peeps here at WordPress. And as promised, here is a shout-out to my most prolific commenters, a rather diverse group, who also happen to be bloggers too.
TALKTODIANA – Diana is a gal full of wit and wisdom, a friendly, community-minded breath of fresh air whose blog I adore. A fellow Canadian with a lovely sense of humour, Diana always comes up with interesting topics to blog about.
Miniscule Moments of Inspiration –Kath Unsworth is a writer and illustrator from Australia. She pens and does the artwork for children’s books, loves animals, and she never fails to stimulate and encourage me with her creative talent. She is also a wife and mother, and lives and works on a dairy farm.
Almost Spring – Elizabeth is another blogger I follow from the Land Down Under. An introvert like myself, her blog is all about her journey from “we” to “me”, and how her divorce has propelled her into a fascinating study of self-examination and what an individual needs to define and sustain a sense of purpose and wellbeing.
GREENLIGHTLADY – Wendy is another fellow Canadian – from the opposite coast! – who is a photographer extraordinaire and an inspiring poet. She blogs about the beauty of nature and all the things she is thankful for, and is always there with a supportive word.
Seasons Change, and so have I – Carla and I started blogging around the same time and was my first follower. As her blog name attests, she has gone through many changes, even since she started blogging, and I admire her for her honest and forthright views on everything from mental health to current events. She is from Kentucky, USA.
jmgoyder – Julie is a sweetheart of a lady from Australia (what is it with these wonderful Aussie women?) who is a retired Creative Writing and English lecturer. She keeps us inspired with her posts about her husband with advanced Parkinson’s disease, and her teenage son who has just turned twenty. She poignantly shares her life, the highlights and the low moments alike, with her readers. Always a worthwhile read.
For all bloggers out there, is there anyone you know who warms your heart and is deserving of a “bouquet” for being a loyal follower? Or is there a blog you follow you’d love to tell the world about?
Jennifer's Journal 